Divine
by Lord Jaric
Summary: An expedition group's quick stop on Berk inspires Hiccup to go out on his own expedition with his friends. However his plan back fires when they come under attack and are cut off from home on a unknown island. Which has a strange effect on Astrid.
1. Prologue

**A/N: **This is my first How to Train Your Dragon fanfic. So if you see anything wrong, from how I'm handling the characters to miss use of canon material please let me know. This story has some surprises for you. Hiccup and the gang are 19 and 18 so they are close to their second movie appearance. I don't think I have any plans to incorporate the wingsuit and Inferno into the story yet. Hope you enjoy.

Special Thanks to Darigash for the cover image.

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><p><span><strong>Prologue<strong>

"No. No. No. It's position four then three." The auburn haired boy said from behind her. She followed his directions and pressed the pedal into the positions. Or she thought she had. Instead of making a slow ascent to the left, the dark creature they were riding made a steep dive to the right. The sea below was fast approaching. "Up! Up! Up, Astrid! Up!"

"You're not helping, Hiccup!" She called back to him. The Night Fury extended out his wings to slow down their descent but the position of the prosthetic tail wing kept forcing them down. Astrid was afraid if she made the wrong move she would force Toothless into the sea. But then she felt Hiccup's metal foot putting pressure on the back of the pedal and the dragon evened himself out.

"You've got to be more careful, Astrid." Hiccup told her letting out a breath of relief. "If I hadn't been here you would have gotten yourself killed." She turned around and shot him a glare.

"This is my first time flying Toothless." The blonde said in frustration. Lately Hiccup had been having less and less time to go out flying with Toothless. His father had been starting to trick him into helping out with Chieftain duties around the village and going to meetings. Usually the chief-to-be got himself out of it, but when he didn't, he was forced to accompany Stoick around the village, sometimes days at a time. When Hiccup returned home afterwards he was too tired to fly with Toothless. This only made the Night Fury restless. The dark dragon would make so much racket in and around the Chief's home that Hiccup had to find some way for Toothless to fly when he was away. This led Astrid to the situation she was in now.

"Don't you have any written directions I could use?" Astrid had been trying to follow everything Hiccup had been telling her to do, but at every turn she screwed up. She tried to turn right, she ended up going left. When she tried go down, she veered to right while going up. While trying to make a dive, she took a spin. She already had some close calls slamming into some sea stacks; which earned her a smack from one Toothless' head plates.

"Trust me," Hiccup said in a reassuring voice, "it's better to learn from instinct." That didn't make her feel any better. A squawk from her right got her attention. She turned to see Stormfly flying close by keeping a close eye on her. Her soaring friend had been keeping a close distance to make sure nothing happened to her rider. And at the moment she wasn't very happy. The blonde could see the look of frustration in the Deadly Nadder's eyes

"I'm okay, girl." She tried reassure her dragon with a smile. But Stormfly didn't look convinced. "Hey Hiccup, maybe we should take a break." Astrid looked back to see him staring at the Deadly Nadder who in turn seemed to be glaring back at him.

"Yeah. Maybe we should." He looked ahead searching for place to land. He found one and patted Toothless' side. "Okay boy lets land on that sea stack." Astrid saw the one he pointed out; it was large enough for them and both their dragons with room to move. Once they landed Stormfly was at her side.

"Hey, girl." The blonde cooed. "See, I'm fine" The Deadly Nadder nuzzled her chest. Apparently she really wanted to fly with her rider; Astrid could tell from the jealous stare that Stormfly sent towards Toothless. The Night Fury just shrugged it off and motioned his head towards Hiccup.

"Thanks for having my back bud." The Chief to be said sarcastically. Astrid snickered at the exchange before sitting down with her dragon. Hiccup and Toothless soon joined them, with the auburn haired boy sit right next to her. "I really appreciate this Astrid. Toothless has been driving me nuts lately."

"Yeah, you would be helpless without me." She said with the sweetest smile she could muster.

"C'mon!" He groaned, gesturing his hands. "I'm nowhere near that helpless."

"All yeah?" The blonde challenged, poking him in the chest. "What about that time you got your foot stuck while on top of a tree and I had to climb up to get you out while you were hanging upside down."

"Now that was just a-" Hiccup tried to say.

"Then there was that time when Toothless got his prosthetic torn and got you two stuck on one of the sea stacks." Astrid was starting to count off on you hand to irk her friend some more. "You were stuck there all day until I came looking for you."

"Yeah, but-" He tried again to defend himself, but Astrid had more ammo on him and she planned to use it.

"Oh and let's not forget the time when Snotlout-" she started to say recalling the event perfectly.

"Alright!" Hiccup threw his hands up in surrender. "You win, Milady. You are my champion and defender and I would be nothing without you."

"Oh, Hiccup." She said, placing her hand on her chest. "That's so sweet of you to say." She leaned over and gave him a kiss on his cheek.

"Well if I get a reward every time I say it, then maybe I should say it some more." He smiled at her. "But I really am grateful for this. I swear my dad is about ready to kick him outside if Toothless tears apart the house again."

"He'd probably just tear apart the village and restart the dragon war." She added. The dark dragon raised his head from where he laid and gave her a glare to show that he was offended. "Oh, you know you would do it if it got Hiccup's attention." Toothless laid back down with a pout.

"And you're welcome Hiccup," Astrid said. "I know these means a lot for you."

"Yeah. Even if it is taking you while to figure how to work the controls." He teased. Which Astrid promptly punched him in the arm for. "Ow!"

"First you complement me and then you insult me." She said in a pretend annoyed tone. "You're slipping, Hiccup."

"Coming from you that…," Hiccup started to trail off, "means…"

"That means what?" She asked wondering why he stopped. She saw that his eyes were staring out over the sea. "Hiccup? What 's wrong?" Her eyes scanned the horizon to see five dots in the distance on the ocean. "Are any of our ships out?"

"No." He said while getting up; keeping his eyes on the approaching ships. "We should get back to the village."

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><p>Upon seeing that four of the ships were keeping their distance from the island and only one was approaching their docks, Hiccup thought it was best that he and Astrid land Toothless and Stormfly on the cliff overlooking the docks. He didn't want to spook the new comers. However his father didn't seem to have the same idea. Stoick, Gobber and Spitelout were already at the docks with Skullcrusher lying behind them waiting for their uninvited guests to arrive.<p>

"Dad!" He and Astrid had made it down to the dock in time to see the ship pull into their little harbor. "Who is it?" His father turned to him and Hiccup could tell by the scowl on his face that he wasn't happy with the arrival of the small fleet.

"I don't know." Stoick looked back at the ship approaching the dock they were standing on. "I don't recognize the crest." Hiccup took a look at the sail baring the symbol of those on board. It was a circle. At its center was a feminine face tilting down and her long hair weaved around her. The entire crest was colored blue. The ship itself was of Viking design. However many of the people on board were not.

The first man to step off the ship wore Viking clothing but that was only comparison that Hiccup could make. His light brown hair wasn't to out of the ordinary, but he was cleanly shaven; something many Vikings didn't do with their beards. He was quite lean when compared to the muscular tone of Hiccup's fellow tribesmen. The sword that hanged from the stranger's side was not of Viking origin. The width of the blade was a bit slender then a typical Viking sword and it had a curve to it. The Chief to be didn't know of any Viking blacksmith that made a sword like that.

The next two men that came off of the ship were definitely Vikings. They had blue eyes and blond hair. Everything else about them said Viking from their build to their stance. On closer expectation Hiccup could see that they were twins. The only way to tell them apart was that one wore black fur vest and the other wore brown vest. No one else got off the ship as the three men approached the Chief. The two Vikings seem to be nervously griping their swords as their eyes drifted over the large green dragon behind Stoick. However the stranger didn't even bat an eyelash at the presence of Skullcrusher.

"Hello." The stranger said to Hiccup's father. "Are you the Chief of this island?"

"Ay, I am." Stoick said sternly. "And who might you be? And what makes you think you can come to my island unannounced?"

"My apologizes. My name is Llyr." The brown haired man said. He then motioned to the twins. "This is Finn." He pointed to the one wearing the black vest. Then he motioned to the other twin. "And this is Olvir. We are part of an expedition that travels the sea locating islands and making detailed maps of them."

Hiccup perked up at the mention of expedition. The idea of traveling around finding new land and mysteries sounded very intriguing to him. He wondered what he would be able to see flying on Toothless. The detailed maps that he would be able to make would be great.

"We were running low on supplies when we saw you island in the distance." Llyr continued. "We were hoping to conduct trade with your people and with you permission, do some hunting and surveying." Hiccup looked at his father to see that the he was considering the man's request. Honestly he didn't see the harm in letting these people in. So far their leader had shown respect to his father and as long as they didn't go crazy, hunting shouldn't be that much of a problem.

"Very well. You can bring your ships into the docks over there." Stoick pointed to the docks to the far right of the port; which were reserved for allied ships that need to make a stop during long voyages. "You may conduct trade, however only a fifth of your men from each ship maybe allowed on the island at a time. All weapons remain on your ships. As for hunting and surveying I will have to speak with the others before allowing it."

"Thank you, Chief." Llyr bowed. He then detached his sword from is hip, as did Olvir, although he seemed reluctant as his eyes went back to Skullcrusher. They both handed their weapons to the other twin. "Finn, send word to the fleet of what the Chief has granted us." The man nodded and got back on the ship and started yelling orders to prepare the vessel to set sail back to the others. "I'm sorry Chief, but I don't belief I got your name."

"I am Stoick the Vast." Hiccup's father said sternly. He then introduced the others. "This is Spitelout, my bother and second-in-command. This is Gobber, my close friend and blacksmith of our people." Llyr nodded to each of them before putting his attention on Hiccup and Astrid.

"And who might these two young people be." He asked. Hiccup was about to responded but his father beat him to it. Stoick pulled him forward to present him to the man.

"This is my son, Hiccup. A hero among our people." His father said proudly. "And his… close friend, Astrid." Hiccup swore he saw a quick smirk on Llyr's face at how his father presented Astrid. Hiccup turn to see how she responded to how the Chief presented her. But he saw that the blonde's blue eyes seemed to be locked on the crest of the ships sail, which was just leaving the dock. He was about to ask her what was wrong but his attention got drawn back to the conversation at hand.

"It's nice to meet you all." Llyr said extending his hand, which his father took. "May this be the beginning of a wonderful friendship."

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><p><strong>AN: **I hope you enjoyed. I was planning to make this longer but I felt this was a good place to stop for the prologue, even though it does seem to be a bland start. The beginning of the chapter was inspired by a moment in the second movie which I recall Astrid saying that she was have to start flying Toothless **more** if Hiccup became Chief. If you see any mistakes writing and/or story wise, let me know. Feedback is appreciated.


	2. The Lady of the Sea

**A/N: **Here's the next chapter. I hope it makes up for the lackluster of the last chapter.

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><p><strong>The Lady of the Sea<strong>

The whole village was buzzing with the recent development. Everywhere Astrid looked her fellow clansmen and women were setting up stands for the new arrivals. Food. Clothing. Tools. Everyone was getting ready to trade. It was like Trader John had arrived. She could understand some of the excitement. The people that had arrived on their shores traveled around from island to island. They were bound to of picked up some exotic items along the way.

As the ships rowed into the docks however, she felt a slight change in the mood of the people. Each vessel was a Viking long ship, each capable of holding twenty to thirty men. For so many foreign men to be on their land would make anyone nervous. Currently the village hierarchy was in the Great Hall with Llyr and Olvir, discussing terms for their men's stay on Berk. Stoick had dragged Hiccup along for more training; leaving Toothless in her care.

Astrid had been charged to have all the dragons grounded to try and avoid any incidents with their visitors. After she had secured them in the stable, something that neither her or Hiccup's dragon were happy about, she had continued to patrol around the village checking for anymore dragons. Once she had made sure the dragons were safely tucked away she had returned to the cliff overlooking the docks.

The last of the expedition ships were pulling into the docks and a few men from each ship made their way up the docks towards the village. Astrid's eyes were only on them for a moment before they went to the crest on the sails. She couldn't point her finger on it. Something about the blue lady fascinated her. The crest had mesmerized her so much that she had barely remembered anything from the conversation between Stoick and Llyr. She didn't know how long she had been staring before Hiccup had snapped her out of it.

Now the blonde found herself staring at the blue lady again. Trying to decipher something; anything that could tell her why she was so captivated by the crest. But Astrid just couldn't figure it out; and with great reluctance she pulled her eyes away. As she made her way away from the cliff she found her friends coming up to her.

"Astrid, what's going on?" Ruffnut was the first to ask.

"Yeah, what's all the ruckuses about?" Snotlout asked. "The Chief comes and gets my dad, then the next thing I know all this is going on." He gestured to the stands that had been setup.

"And why have our dragons been put away in the stable?" Fishlegs said with a little worry. "Meatlug doesn't like be penned up with so many other dragons for long periods of time."

"We have guest." Was all Astrid could tell them as the first set of foreigners step foot on the solid land of their island. Each of them carried bags to which she could only assume where filled with items they would trade with.

"Who are these guys?" Tuffnut asked eyeing them suspiciously.

"They're part of an expedition group that came across our island." Astrid informed them. "They stopped here for trade and to resupply."

"Trade," the male twin asked with a little excitement, "like Trader John?" Before Astrid could answer him he was running off towards the stands. His sister soon followed.

"I'm going grab as many things I can get and get some cool stuff." Snotlout said and he quickly head towards the village. Astrid resisted the urge to yell at him that he had no idea what these people had with them to trade. She turned to look at Fishlegs who didn't seem as eager as the others.

"This is why our dragons were penned up?" He asked.

"Yeah, Chief's orders," she said. "He doesn't want to cause a panic. Some of them already saw Skullcrusher and were uneasy by him."

"I suppose that is a good reason." Fishlegs said. "Hey, looks like the meeting is done." Astrid looked up towards the Great Hall to see several Vikings walking down the stairs. Soon Hiccup could be seen exiting the structure.

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><p>Hiccup let out a sigh of relieve. He had been one last the leave the Hall. The meeting had gone relatively well; that didn't mean that there weren't intense moments. Many of his fellow Vikings were not happy about the uninvited guest and some were not afraid to show their displeasure. There had been yelling, demands, and even a handful of threats. However, Llyr had remained calm through it all.<p>

His request had been quite simple. Trade, permission to hunt and survey Berk? None of the Hairy Hooligans had opposed the request for trade but they didn't like the idea of foreign men wandering their island. Especially mapping their home. However Hiccup had a simple solution to the problem.

Allow a limited amount of hunting under the watchful eye of one of their own. His father agreed with the idea and the others were less wary of the idea. Llyr offered some of his maps in exchange for mapping Berk. Stoick agreed but only in letting the coastline be mapped. Once the terms were met the meeting had been adjourned and Hiccup's fellow tribesmen left with lighter moods then when they arrived. A handful, his father included, with Lylr and Olvir staying behind to finalize the agreement.

Now he was standing outside the Great Hall looking out at the activity happening in his village. There was a lot of movement at the stands that had been set up. It seemed like everyone had come out to trade with their guest. He could make out the twins and Snotlout trying to exchange something "interesting" with one of the foreigners without much luck. In the distance he could see Fishlegs, who was now making his way towards the crowd, and Astrid. The sunlight reflecting of her blond hair made her look gorgeous even form this distance. The thought continuing the day with the girl he loved before it had been interrupted put a smile on his face.

"Admiring the view?" A voice beside him asked causing him to jump. Hiccup turned to see Lylr with a knowing smirk on his face. The brown haired man's eyes seemed to be directed towards Astrid. "You must really like that girl if she draws your attention more than anything else."

"What… Well… I…" Hiccup tried to explain but was caught off guard by the stranger's forwardness. The man laughed and gave him a smack over the shoulder.

"You young people are too easy to rile up." Lylr said. He turned to look at him and the smile fell somewhat. "My apologizes. I've seem to upset you. "

"Well it isn't exactly normal for strangers to make statements like that," the chief to be said.

"Hm, I suppose be at sea for so long with the men I know has reduced me of tactfulness." The man said sincerely.

"It's alright." Hiccup said to ease the man of any worries that he had been offensive. "She is a very good friend. After Toothless, Astrid was one of the first people to accept me for who I was."

"Toothless?" Hiccup could tell that the man was confused by the name.

"He's my best friend and dragon." The auburn haired boy said with a smile.

"You know, in my travels I recently heard of a place that tamed dragons." Llyr said thoughtfully. "Never thought I would come across your people." There was a slight pause before he continued. "What did you mean by being accepted?"

"I was sort of an outcast among my people." Hiccup explained. "I was walking disaster; whenever I tried to help in dragon raids I just made things worse. The only thing I was good at was working in the blacksmith. But everything changed when I shot down Toothless." He saw a look of surprise on Llyr face. "One of my attempts to help during a dragon raid that still ended badly. I found him in the forest and overtime we created a bond. Soon after Astrid found out and I was able to convince her that dragons weren't bad. And after a series of events the village and more importantly my father accepted me and the dragons as well."

"Well, form outcast to hero." Llyr stated. "Almost like an epic. Like it was destined" Hiccup saw a thoughtful look on the man's face; he brushed it off as the man looking too much into his story. "So this Astrid girl, how close of a friend is she."

_At least the man was being more tactful this time_, Hiccup thought. "As I said she was the first to accept me. So that has created a close bond between us. We do a lot together. From flying on Toothless and Stormfly, to just hanging out with one another."

"Have you ever given her any gifts before?" He asked. Hiccup found the question to be out of place but decided to indulge him.

"Well I've designed and made her saddle." Hiccup told him.

"But have you ever given her anything more of a… personal nature?" Llyr specified his question.

"Well… ah… no. We are a hardy people." The auburn haired boy explained. "We don't have much in terms of personal effects. So in turn we don't have much to give other than our time."

"I see." Was all the brown haired man said. He then reached behind his neck and began to fiddle with something. Hiccup saw him take off a blue neckless he had been wearing and hold it out to him. "You can give her this." The chief to be was taken aback by the gesture.

"I can't accept this." Hiccup stated. The neckless looked highly valuable. The metal was a bluish color and the pendent was shaped just like the crest on Llyr's ship sail. The head of a blue lady in a circle with an open space between her face and the circle. "I mean it must be of some value to you."

"Consider it a gift from a new ally." He insisted. It didn't seem like he would take no for an answer so Hiccup gracefully took the neckless. "Now if you excuse me I must inform my men."

Hiccup looked at the pendent now in his possession. It was cool to the touch. On closer observation he noticed that the neckless was a little more detailed the crest on the ship's sail. There were strands of hair that stood about from the rest. Half-closed eyes and a small smile gave off a sincere look. A small smile crossed Hiccups face; _perhaps Astrid would like this as a gift._

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><p>After a few days their guest had completed resupplying their ships and had felt like they had conducted a good enough amount of trade without incident. They were papering to leave the next day and the Chief had insisted on throwing a feast in their honor. So Astrid found herself in the Great Hall watching the festivities going by. The Vikings of the expedition group didn't have any problems mingling with her fellow villagers; the others however seem to keep to themselves. It wasn't long before Hiccup joined her, which suited her just fine as she hadn't been able to spend much time with him since their arrival.<p>

"Good evening, Milady." He said handing her a mug of mead. "How have things been with you?"

"Things have been going well." She informed him before taking a sip from her cup. "The dragons were getting restless; especially Toothless, but the others and I were able to keep them calm."

"We should probably take them out flying when Llyr and the others leave," he suggested.

"Yeah, that would be a good idea." The blonde said. There was short pause as they watched the singing and dancing going on in the hall. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. She was about ask Hiccup if they should join in but he restarted the conversation.

"You know I've been thinking." He said in a pondering tone.

"Uh-oh." Astrid mocked.

"Ha, ha, very funny." Hiccup said annoyed. "I was thinking since our guest arrival; why don't we go on an expedition of our own." Astrid perked up at the mention of that.

"You mean just me and you?" She asked hopefully. "Flying out looking for new places?"

"Yeah," he said with a smile, "just me and you."

"I would love that." The blonde expressed.

"But," Hiccup said with a sigh, "I'll have to ask my father first."

"Well we can only hope then," she said. The continued to drink their mead in silence until Llyr came up to them.

"Mind if I join you two?" He asked. The couple looked at each other then back to him and shook their heads and he sat down. "I couldn't help but over hear that you want to go on you own expedition."

"Yeah," Hiccup said, "I like to get off the island as much as possible. And finding new land sounds exciting to me."

"Well if you do go may I make a suggestion?" Hiccup nodded in improvable. "Head west. The map I gave the Chief is detailed to the east and south, so if you are planning to make your own map you should head west."

"Thanks for the suggestion," Hiccup said. Llyr was about to leave before Astrid stopped him.

"Hey Llyr, I've been meaning to ask you something." Both men looked at her in wonder. "I have a question about the crest on your ships." The man's sincere expression told her to continue. Who is the woman on your crest?" The brown haired man smiled at her question.

"The Lady of the Sea?" The man said. "Well their quite the story about her. Well more like legend." Now she was really interested, and one look told her Hiccup was as well. "She was said to once be the ruler of a powerful civilizations. Its influence spreading far beyond its own borders. They were more advance then anyone they came in contact with. It is said that they could control the flow of water The Lady was a fair and just ruler and her people loved her with all their hearts. It was said that she spoke to their deities and was the gods' massager. Those who traveled by sea often went to her to insure a save journey. This is one of the reasons I adopted her image for my crest. But then something happened. "

"What?" Astrid asked her hands tightening around her mug. "What happened?"

"Her entire civilization disappeared." He stated soulfully. "No one knows what happened. Some say a plague hit them. Others say they became complacent and their gods grew angry and destroyed them."

"Has anyone even tried to find out what happened?" Hiccup asked.

"No one even knows where their homeland is." Llyr answered. "All sources come from foreign lands. It's one of my goals to find their civilization." Astrid saw the black vested twin Finn approach them. He whispered something in his leader's ear to quiet for her to hear. "If you two would excuse me I have matter I must attend to." He got up and she watched him and Finn leave the Great Hall.

"Hey, Astrid?" Her attention was drawn back to Hiccup. "I've been meaning to give this to you." He pulled something out of his pocket and handed it to her. She looked at the item closely. It was a blue neckless with the pendent bearing the same symbol as the Llyr's crest.

"Hiccup," she said astonished, "I love it!" She moved around so he could help her put it on. She then kissed him on the lips, which he returned gracefully. The music in the hall began to play more slowly and softly.

"May I have this dance, Milady?" The auburn haired boy extended his hand with a smile.

"I thought you would never ask." She smiled back and took his hand.

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><p>As the festivities continued in the Great Hall on the other side of Berk a small ship pulled ashore. A black cloaked man jumped down from the vessel and was quickly followed by several well-armed men. None of them said a word as they walked into the woods. They came across a tree that had a freshly engraved marker pointing them in the direction they needed to go.<p>

It wasn't long before they came across a cave hidden under a lot of undergrowth. The black cloaked man gestured to one his escorts who lit a torch and handed it to him. They walked far into the cave until they came upon a stunning sight. Two massive stone doors with engraved writing and images, with several latches keeping the doors together. He walked up the entryway and pressed his hands against the lowest latch. He could tell it was firmly in place keeping the doors locked tight. His hand then moved to a circular depression bigger than his hand, which he was sure was meant for the key. He then had his hand slowly move over one of the engraved images; his fingers taking in every detail.

"I need the writings." He turned to inform his men. Some of them took out pieces of paper and charcoal from their backs and went to the doors. They pressed their papers against the writings and began rubbing the charcoal over them. The dark cloaked man returned his attention to the image. "It's only a matter of time before we have the greatest treasure in history." He said to himself as he looked at the engraved woman.

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><p><strong>AN: **Hopefully this wasn't a lackluster. The plot is getting pushed foward. Hope you enjoyed.


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